Off The Deep End

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Three Articles by Raymond Broshears From After The Trial of Clay Shaw

From the Berkeley Barb Dec. 1971

What follows is a re-typed version of newsletter that was put out by Raymond Broshears. Broshears is known by some as a witness in Jim Garrison's investigation into the JFK assassination, and to others as a gay rights activists in San Francisco.

I have obtained a wealth of information on Broshears from the GLBT Historical Society of San Francisco - where Broshears' personal files are archived. I will be reprinting some of Broshears writings - the majority which has been unavailable in digital form - as a precursor to an article I am writing that will give an overview of Broshears connections to the JFK assassination, as well as a surprising connection to UFO researchers and new age groups.

The information I have obtained will surprise - and probably displease - researchers into the JFK assassination, whatever their views may be.

I will demonstrate absolutely that Broshears was in New Orleans at the time-period he said that he was, which is sure to irk some researchers who have claimed he was never there. I will also shed light an under-researched connection between Broshears and another Garrison investigation subject that existed before Broshears went public with his claims.

Although Broshears may have had some knowledge of the New Orleans underground, he was a man who loved the spotlight and often embellished his knowledge if he felt it was for a worthy cause. With that in mind, read the words of Raymond Broshears but caveat emptor.

Also note for the most part I have reprinted Broshears writing as it was printed, creative punctuation and all. The only change I have made is to paragraph spacing.

--Tim Cridland

From Light of Understanding

Vol. 4 #2 Dec. 1969

(A PORTION OF A RECENT INTERVIEW IN SAN FRANCISCO)

San Francisco (LPS) On Thanksgiving Day in this city, the Reverend Raymond Broshears at a press conference held at St. Timothy's Church of God following the service nearby, spoke of the recent election victory by New Orleans District Attorney, James Garrison.

"It is no mere coincidence that after vast monies spent to defeat Garrison in his bid for re-election, that the CIA and "others" saw that the People would return him to office that the F.B.I. picked up two people whom I have said for years, and know to be directly involved with principles all throughout Garrison's case against the Warren Commission Report of the murder of President Kennedy."

When asked the names, the Reverend stated that he was given these names to Garrison when in New Orleans in 1968 after being subpoenaed to testify that he knew David and his associates, "I told Mr. Garrison at that time that Richard Lauchli of Collinsville, Illinois, and Robert DePugh of Narbonne, Missouri were two of the persons were two of the persons whom Ferrie stated supplied arms and ammunition for him to fly to Guatemala and Honduras. At the time Mr. Garrison did not seem to be to interested, but I am sure now, when the chips are really down, and all that he has left is the perjury trial of Clay Shaw, that now wishes he had subpoenaed them."

"I still laugh, not in humor who, at all of the trust he placed in his assistant DA, Andy Sciambra, he being the one who came up with the "star" witness, Perry R. Russo. At the time I told Mr. Alcock, another assistant, that Russo had to be a fraud, and that Sciambra, who would not let me talk with Russo at the time, and kept insisting that Russo knew Ferrie, while I knew at no time did Ferrie ever mention Russo, and if he was as important as Sciambra claimed, he would have mentioned his name."

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The next two articles - also from issues of Broshears' Light of Understanding newsletter - are missing date and issue information. The contents of the articles show that the first was written after Garrison dropped a perjury charge against Shaw (May 1971) and the second was written after an charges of taking kickbacks were made against Garrison (June 1971).

The exact dates and issue numbers were lost while traveling but will be added when the information is recovered.

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From Light of Understanding

Vol.? #? 1971

KENNEDY'S SOUL CANNOT REST IN PEACE!!!

by Reverend Raymond Broshears

Jim Garrison, a man of good intentions and a man on the right track, who unfortunately took detours which led to the destruction of his investigation into the murder of President Kennedy, has called a halt to his prosecution of Clay Shaw, a prominent New Orleans businessman.

Big Jim can only blame himself for his failures, for the persecution of Clay Shaw was one of the detours that he took, which detracted from very real evidence that he had uncovered. And when he "went off the deep end" on Shaw, he thus destroyed the credibility of the very true evidence that he had uncovered [1]. JFK's soul cannot rest in peace, but now, maybe, Mr. Clay Shaw can find some earthly rest.

David Ferrie was a very warm and real person, although very misguided. He trusted one of Big Jim's investigators, which many believed lead to his death. David was most certainly a central figure in the murder of JFK, far more than Big Jim cared to believe, which too was a grave error in his case[2]. He built his case against someone who was guilty of knowing someone, many someones, all who figured in the murder plot. But Big Jim has a hate a real hate within him that caused him to lose out all the way round, that being his hate for homosexuals[3]. So, when he had real evidence he lost it in hate. and lost truth about the murder of JFK.

[1] Seeing has Garrison was only able to prosecute within his jurisdiction, and other, stronger, suspects where already dead - David Ferrie and Guy Banister - one wonders how Broshears thought Garrison should have proceeded.

[2] Note that Garrison was criticized for his hyperbolic statement that Ferrie was "One of history's most important individuals."

[3] Here Broshears does a complete 180 on statements he made about Garrison's attitude about homosexuals, including one he published in a previous article in Light of Understanding -

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From Light of Understanding

Vol.? #? 1971

U.S. GOVERNMENT "Gets" Big Jim!

by Reverend Raymond Broshears

Well, the Federal Government has at last "made" a way to prosecute Jim Garrison, the Southern Baptist District Attorney of New Orleans, who was the only lawman in all of Amerika with guts enough to challenge and investigate the Warren Commission "whitewash" of the murder of John F. Kennedy.

Yes, it appears that all the jackasses that New Orleans has, are now braying all over the place that Garrison is a crook, and of course the the Madison Avenue news media, so firmly controlled by the C.I.A., has been in a steady campaign to make Garrison to appear as a "mentality ill" person for years, but that did not slow down his investigation (which he unfortunately conducted with a "hell and fire-brimstone ruthlessness") of the murder of the President.

U.S. Attorney Gallinghouse, who has had several closed and hush hush meetings with Clay Shaw, the New Orleans businessman that Big Jim accused of being directly involved in the plot to kill JFK.

Shaw, a real "biggie" in C.I.A circles, was never involved in the plot as was charged by Garrison, but was a most definite link with many of those who were involved. Lee Harvey Oswald, Bishop David Ferrie (Old Catholic Church prelate, consecrated by a Bishop who was consecrated by the same one who consecrated "Bishop" Michael Itkin of San Francisco. Itkin was charged recently by a Virginia Cleric as being associated with Ferrie, and this is NOT true, and was denied by Itkin in due course. The Virginia Cleric has since admitted was "mistaken", but refused to send an apology to Itkin.) Bishop Ferrie a former room-mate of the Reverend Ray Broshears, was very much involved in the association plot, which you can bet your life on. But Clay Shaw could have saved himself alot of grief if he had only took the witnesses stand and "thrown his CIA friends into the quicksand of intrigue where they belonged", but instead, made himself look guilty by refusing to answer questions that were an integral part of the Garrison investigation. Shaw was "persecuted" by Garrison, of that there is no doubt, but he he could have cleared himself and good name by not allowing the CIA to "use" him any longer.

One of San Francisco's "elite" queens flew to New Orleans to meet with Gervais and Gallinghouse about five months ago. The purpose of the meeting?, to frame Jim Garrison. It has worked so far, but Garrison will never be convicted of taking a meager $1,500 a month in "kickback" money. Common sense tells the biggest jackass, that Garrison was in the position to take bribes into the tens of thousands of dollars monthly if he was going that route, but never for a paltry $1,500 a month. And another big plus, is that Garrison has been a ruthless prosecutor of the gaming rackets since becoming District Attorney, and another thing, he is extremely religious. Yes, common sense tells anyone that Jim Garrison is not guilty as charged Attorney General John Mitchell, but is guilty of daring to allude that Lyndon Baines Johnson had something to do with the murder of JFK.

What we must ask of each of you is , how long are you going to allow the government to "frame" peoples, and build it's case in the press, ala Madison Avenue? As Jack Minnis editor of the NOLA EXPRESS stated, the scene from Alice in Wonderland is most appropriate; "Now for the evidence" said the King, "and then the sentence." "No!" said the Queen(s), "first the sentence, and then the evidence!" "Nonsense!" cried Alice, so loudly that everybody jumped, "the idea of having a sentence first!" "Hold you tongue!" said the Queen(s).

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In the above article, written before the outcome of the case against Garrison, Broshears was correct, at least in regards to Garrison being set up. The main witness against Garrison admitted to a New Orleans newspaper to having fabricated the charges and Garrison was found not guilty. You can read the details HERE and in the book Destiny Betrayed and Garrison's On The Trail of the Assassins.

Friday, March 17, 2017

What follows is a re-typed version of newsletter that was put out by Raymond Broshears. Broshears is known by some as a witness in Jim Garrison's investigation into the JFK assassination, and to others as a gay rights activists in San Francisco.

I have obtained a wealth of information on Broshears from the GLBT Historical Society of San Francisco - where Broshears' personal files are archived. I will be reprinting some of Broshears writings - the majority which has been unavailable in digital form - as a precursor to an article I am writing that will give an overview of Broshears connections to the JFK assassination, as well as a surprising connection to UFO researchers and new age groups.

The information I have obtained will surprise - and probably displease - researchers into the JFK assassination, whatever their views may be.

I will demonstrate absolutely that Broshears was in New Orleans at the time-period he said that he was, which is sure to irk some researchers who have claimed he was never there. I will also shed light an under-researched connection between Broshears and another Garrison investigation subject that existed before Broshears went public with his claims.

Although Broshears may have had some knowledge of the New Orleans underground, he was a man who loved the spotlight and often embellished his knowledge if he felt it was for a worthy cause. With that in mind, read the words of Raymond Broshears but caveat emptor.

Also note for the most part I have reprinted Broshears writing as it was printed, creative punctuation and all. The only change I have made is to paragraph spacing.

--Tim Cridland

From The Light of Understanding

Vol.2 #12 September 1968 page 5

Uncredited, but presumably by Raymond Broshears, as evident by the subject matter and the writing style.

"JIM GARRISON: HIS LIFE IS IN GREAT DANGER"

The District Attorney of the "Crescent City" is a man who is "courting" death, because he is a man who dared to shine light into the dark and dangerous celler of the "radical rightists" who have successfully thus far, deprived America of three of it's great leaders. America now, because of these assassinations now lacks a man who can unify the nation.

Jim Garrison is an "articulate" man, and a man who is not a afraid of anyone, at least that is the appearance he gives forth with. But, how long can the radicals who have seized control of the CIA allow him to walk this earth speaking? How long will the "cover-up" men, the F.B.I., allow him to continue to wipe the fantastic white-wash of the Warren Commission Report? Jim Garrison himself I am sure knows that they are not allowing it at all, and have set in motion the wheels to "help" him on his way, HIS WAY OUT.

Yes, his way out of either; LIFE or the office of District Attorney. It has been learned through reliable sources at The LIGHT, the wealthy oilman, Kent Courtney and Company, are now mapping out a "master-plan" for defeat with millions of dollars if deemed as necessary, to defeat Mr. Garrison in his re-election bid in '69.

The "rumor-mongers" have called him all of the following at one time or another; insane-lunatic...gangster...homosexual...(thats a laugh, has a very beautiful wife and FIVE children)...embezzler...(of what?)...dope addict...! Hell. thats enough, I don't know of any one man that has been slandered and defamed as much as James Garrison.

According to some of the ultra-conservatives, LBJ and Abe Fortas are far more acceptable than Garrison as District Attorney. And for the "deep south" thats going some. Those "GOOD OLE AMERICAN PATRIOTS", the ones who wrap themselves in the American flag, hold a Bible in the left hand and a gun in the right hand, are the ones the United States really has to worry about.

An attempt upon the life of Mr. Garrison is more than a reality for nothing is too far out to imagine today. The C.I.A. and Company recently shot down an Ambassador to Guatemala. He was getting a bit too curious about the activities of the "advisors" we had there, and at the strange goings ons with some of the members of the Peace Corps. Let us be real! The President has been murdered and it was whitewashed, so anything is possible.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

What follows is a re-typed version of newsletter that was put out by Raymond Broshears. Broshears is known by some as a witness in Jim Garrison's investigation into the JFK assassination, and to others as a gay rights activists in San Francisco.

I have obtained a wealth of information on Broshears from the GLBT Historical Society of San Francisco - where Broshears' personal files are archived. I will be reprinting some of Broshears writings - the majority which has been unavailable in digital form - as a precursor to an article I am writing that will give an overview of Broshears connections to the JFK assassination, as well as a surprising connection to UFO researchers and new age groups.

The information I have obtained will surprise - and probably displease - researchers into the JFK assassination, whatever their views may be.

I will demonstrate absolutely that Broshears was in New Orleans at the time-period he said that he was, which is sure to irk some researchers who have claimed he was never there. I will also shed light an under-researched connection between Broshears and another Garrison investigation subject that existed before Broshears went public with his claims.

Although Broshears may have had some knowledge of the New Orleans underground, he was a man who loved the spotlight and often embellished his knowledge if he felt it was for a worthy cause. With that in mind, read the words of Raymond Broshears but caveat emptor; and please read the footnote at the end.

Also note that both Broshears and Garrison are deceased so if you write to the address listed it is extremely unlikely that you will receive a reply.

Also note for the most part I have reprinted Broshears writing as it was printed, creative punctuation and all. The only change I have made is to paragraph spacing.

-Tim Cridland

Jim Garrison A Voice For Truth

August 1968

Jim Garrison, District Attorney of New Orleans is leading fight for fight for JUSTICE in a "fear-ridden" land. He is as John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness, calling to the American conscience to awaken before it is too late. A President has been murdered, a U.S. Senator, and a Civil Rights Leader have also been murdered, and the general American Public sets back and lets it all go by without blinking an eye.

Mr. Garrison and his assistant James Alcock, and Andy Sciambra are all working to bring to light the most vile plot against America by "so called" American patriots.

CIA moves rapidly to impede progress case as does the FBI and Secret Service. The INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT scores once more.

Are you going to stand by and see "chains applied to you" and do nothing? Write your Congressmen, take action (non-violent), do not let your your freedom die without having at least raised your voice.

For his actions, the ESTABLISHMENT PRESS, have called Garrison every know evil thing there is. The PRESS is the EVIL ONE. For they do the bidding of the CIA.

Inside is a view of New Orleans and Mr. Garrison by Rev. Raymond Broshears of Long Beach, California. He has witnessed first hand the the intrigue and dangers that go with telling the truth.

SUPPORT TRUTH, SUPPORT JIM GARRISON. SUPPORT FREEDOM. SUPPORT JIM G.

[End of page one].

ATTENTION: ATTENTION: The graves you see at

the right, belong to those who where witnesses and principles in the case against Lee H. Oswald, and Jack Ruby. The fresher looking ones, were a part of the Garrison Probe into the MURDER OF JFK. I have been told my "spot" is reserved, by numerous "callers". And to them I say "go to hell".

On an early July date, I appeared as a last minute replacement for the Rev. Elaine Chambers of the City of Light, Santa Fe, NM. on a Los Angeles television show. So as a result of that program, the above headlines later appeared in the August 9th LOS ANGELES FREE-PRESS. I did not and wish now this telecast had never been made, but you cannot hide a candle under a bushelbasket forever.

Yes, as announced in the FREE-PRESS, I once was a "roomie" of David Ferrie. Yes, he had after several days, finally told to me, a strict unbeliever, that Oswald DID NOT kill JFK.

David Ferrie, a man of great intelligence, and not the horrible creature as portrayed by many, was a man who refused to look at himself, for what he had allowed others to turn him into. Physically, he was not handsome, but he possessed a "mind" that few men ever have, for he had knowledge supreme. He had a weaknesses, and that weaknesses led to his being "blackmailed" into doing what he did and was doing at the time I knew him. Yes, to those who knew New Orleans in those days, Dixies and Lafietes In Exile were the places, and everyone who was everyone in the "H-Underground", sooner or later met at one of the two. Dixies is now gone, but many others have taken up the void.

When the FREE-PRESS story broke, I was in New Orleans with Special Investigator for James Garrison, District Attorney, Mr. Steve Jaffee. I had gone to Orleans at the "insistence" of my own conscience and fellow ministers. I did not wish to go, for the very word Garrison, left a bad taste in my mouth. He had (according to the establishment press) persecuted many of my "fellow-beings", with whom I have great empathy and ties.

I feared for my life (which later proved true), for I didn't trust Garrison or the U.S. government or Clay Shaw's friends. Jaffe arranged to make the trip as secret as possible, which it was.

But now, after having met Jim Garrison, I am convinced that this is one of Americas truly great and sincere people. I trust Jim Garrison with my life. I was over whelming at the honesty and the simplicity at the District Attorneys Office. Mr. James Alcck, the assistant D.A. is a real "BRAIN", for having spent a couple of hours

[End of page 2]

with Alcock, I was convinced, in Light of what I had been told by David, that Garrison had the "goods" on Shaw. Later I met "Moo" Sciambra, a "French Quarter resident" also working on the case. And I met the Chief Investigator, a good cop, Mr. Louis Ivon. Ivon and Alcock are both articulate men, as is Mr. Garrison, whom I later met at his home, he having just had an operation.

Mr. Garrison was not the "bad boogy man" he has been portrayed to be. And he does not mince words. He says what is to be said, and looks you straight in the eye while he is talking to you.

I tell you now, with Alcock or Mr. Garrison, I wouldn't want to have to be a defense witness, for they can "trip" you on one single little comma or period. These two men know what they are doing, and in the case of the assassination of President Kennedy, they are the only ones in America who are in the position to do it.

While in New Orleans, I ran into old "cold flames" who didn't seem to pleased to see me. But the most shocking thing that I discovered while there, was the fact that the government had removed almost all trace of my ever having been in that city. But they "slipped" up, and a couple of cards were found in various agencies, and gave light to the fact I was indeed in Orleans and that I had indeed been involved in the "underground' there.

But, things were different now. David had been murdered. Kerry was not in Orleans, but in Tampa, Kerry, you know, the one whos picture was on the cover of Life with Lee Oswalds head super-imposed upon it. Kerry had the little spider like hands and arms and narrow hips, not Oswald, just ask his wife. [Please see the footnote at the end.]

Cover-up, cover-up, that is the name of the game. Kill, kill, and kill again, all in Jesus Name and Name of God, pretending all the while that you are patriots saving America from the Communists, all the while you are planning to (and doing quite well) deprive the individual his rights and turn America into Orwell's Big Brother, 1984. TRUTH, that is the one thing the vast majority of Americans are afraid of. For as it is written, the TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE.

Since the TV show, I have been evicted from one "good American place", and received numerous threats against my life, from those good ole patriots. Yes, it seems that the good ole patriots are the real danger to Americas freedom. Minutemen, Neo-American Party, John Birch Society, Conservative Society of America, Sons of Liberty, these are the good ole Americans. GOD SAVE US FROM THE "GOOD OLE AMERICANS".

Well, I shan't say anymore on New Orleans or Mr. Garrison until called upon to do so. But I had been asked by numerous members to write my view on Mr. Garrison and associates and a thing or two about what I know. -30-

[End of page 3]

This SPECIAL ISSUE has been put out by the CHURCH OF GOD OF LIGHT, with the help of the following members: Rev. Foy... Rev. Raymond Broshears...Rev. T. Trapp Rev. Wm. Jordano...Rev. Robert Fierce, all of Long Beach.
You may write the LIGHT of Understanding @ P.O. Box 1027, Long Beach 90801.

The budget of the New Orleans District Attorneys Office does not provide money for special investigations such as is being conducted into the Kennedy Assassination by Jim Garrison. For this reason, he can only continue his investigation as long as the public supports it financially. IF YOU CARE ABOUT TRUTH, send please, a donation of any size to: Jim Garrison Investigation Fund 2700 Tulane Avenue New Orleans, Louisiana 70119---------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVEREND RAYMOND BROSHEARS SPEAKS: During the time in '68 I was in New Orleans. I found that many people who have dared to co-operate with Garrison had been subjected to great humiliation and harassment. There are many, too many to mention. But I do wish to thank the following persons for their kindness to me during this most trying period; Mr. Jim Garrison, Mr. James Alcock, Mr. Louis Ivon, Mr. "Moo" Sciambra, Detective Scali, Mrs. Barbara Ried, Miss Peggy Roddy, Roger @ the Finale, all of the wonderfuls at the Seven Seas and other places I went to. A special thanks to a little girl named Kelly, who wanted to "protect" me while in the Quarter. A very fine little girl. May GOD guide and protect who are working on this case.////A special thanks to Mr. Mark Lane who came to my Long Beach home and enlightened me, and to Mr. Steve Jaffe who was my "bodyguard".////Thanks to the LOS ANGELES FREE-PRESS for being kind to me in regards to a a touchy subject.//// I ask all once more to pray for Jim Garrison and his associates, for now is the time to come to the aid of TRUTH.

[End of page 4/End of issue]

Footnote: Broshears repeatability made allegations against Kerry Thornley - another subject of the Garrison probe and a man best remembered as a founder of the spoof religion Discordianism. Author Adam Gorighly has written a biography of Thornley, as well a book detailing Garrison's investigation into Thornley. Gorighly has shown that Thornley was not in New Orleans at the time Broshears claimed to be in New Orleans. Broshears may have been Garrison's investigators information they wanted to hear in order to make his testimony seem more important - something that is common among informants of all kinds. Or it could be something stranger. This will be elaborated on in a future posting.

Monday, January 30, 2017

The following was originally published in the May 1968 issue of The Light of Understanding, a magazine published by Raymond Broshears, who was then living in Long Beach, California. It is reprinted exactly as it was written.

"I DID NOT KILL PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY."

By Lee Harvey Oswald, as taken from the Akashic Records by the Right Reverend Raymond Broshears, D.D. (Bishop Broshears has spent time in New Orleans before the "suicide" of David Ferrie, from the Spirit World, Mr. Oswald has told Bishop Broshears what really happened in Dallas, November 22. )

"I raised my rifle to aim at the target, and I suddenly realized that the target was the President of my country, my president. I couldn't go through with it. When the motorcade came into sight, I dropped the rifle, I was wearing gloves, that accounts for the lack of fingerprints, and started to run, then Bill said "shoot the bastard or you'll be shot", I did not care, I just ran out of the Book Depository, and I then knew that others had hit him, I ran, I ran for my life, for that is what it was. I knew they would be after me, so I thought I would wait until dark, hide in a movie, yes, that's it in a movie, but then Tippett spotted me, I had seen him at the meetings, he was one of us, he was going to kill me, I knew it, I tried to hide, but he had seen me, I had to kill him. But it was too late, for they were closing in all about me, the police, and the "cell members", so I knew that my best chance was going to jail and tell all. But then, that fat fool Jack, he knew all the angles, he knew everyone, no one in the police paid him much attention, and when the I saw the guards parting, I knew that I had been "set up", for they didn't want me to talk, Jack fired, it hurt for a second, then it was over. But they think by killing me that it is over, that no one will ever find out the truth, but they will. Remember, the gun dropped by me in the Depository had not been fired, and the DPD and the FBI did not even bother to check that part. But the guilty ones shall all be in light someday, Richard, Carlos, Kent, Terry, Clay, Bobby, Jerry, Don, and you too Tom, someday you all shall be known. David told enough to enough to "hang" you all." .........

It was at this point contact with Oswald was broken, but he said that he would return once more, of course we do not know when. But I feel he has told enough now to erase many of the doubts surrounding the entire affair.

One thing that was made clear was that "that man in New Orleans is a fool"

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The Clintons, Scientology, and Drug-Smuggling

The best way to view American politics is rival crime-families fighting for control of an empire. Publicity, they fight over issues that, although important to people, do not change the nature of the game. Beneath the surface they use every trick in the book, including temporary alliances and back-stabbing, to gain and control power.

This had never been more evident than in this upcoming election, which threatens to shatter the false binary party system. The candidates for both major parties are so atrocious that people who hate Tweedle-Dumb are desperately trying to shame you into voting for Tweedle-Dumb... because, after all, if you do not Tweedle-Dumber might win.

Almost flying under the radar, which is a very appropriate metaphor, a movie is in production about a 1980s scandal involving drug-running, and murder; among other things. Originally to be called Mena, after the small Arkansas town that was an unlikely hub for these nefarious activities, it is now set to be released in late 2017.

The release date is good news for Hillary Clinton, as she will likely already be elected before its debut. Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas at the time of the activities at Mena, and was alerted to them. At the very least he is guilty of looking the other way. Some researchers think he is guilty of a lot more than that.

Hillary and Bill work closely together -- you could even say they are in bed together -- even though it likely they sleep in separate beds. Their marriage, now more than ever, seems to be a business arrangement. Like it or not, the scandals of the previous Clinton Administration are Hillary's scandals as well. Even back then, it was known that Hillary wore the pants-suit.

The really big scandals never make the mainstream media because they implicate people on both "sides" of overt politics. Mena is the classic example. It started with the Reagan/Bush administration and helped boast the Clintons political power on their climb to the presidency.

Journalists Sally Denton and Roger Morris, in an article that had been cleared to appear in The Washington Post in January 1995, wrote:

"Mena, from 1981 to 1985, was indeed one of the centers for international smuggling traffic. According to official l.R.S. and D.E.A. calculations, sworn court testimony, and other corroborative records, the traffic amounted to thousands of kilos of cocaine and heroin and literally hundreds of millions of dollars in drug profits. According to a 1986 letter from the Louisiana attorney general to then U.S. attorney general Edwin Meese, Seal 'smuggled between $3 billion and $5 billion of drugs into the U.S.'"

Regarding Bill Clinton's knowledge they wrote:

"Clinton has acknowledged learning officially about Mena only in April 1988, though a state police investigation had been in progress for several years. As the state's chief executive, Clinton often claimed to be fully abreast of such inquiries. In his one public statement on the matter as governor, in September 1991 he spoke of that investigation finding 'linkages to the federal government,' and 'all kinds of questions about whether he [Seal] had any links to the C.l.A.... and if that backed into the Iran-Contra deal.'"

"But then Clinton did not offer further support for any inquiry, 'despite the fact,' as Bill Plante and Michael Singer of CBS News have written, 'that a Republican administration was apparently sponsoring a Contra-aid operation in his state and protecting a smuggling ring that flew tons of cocaine through Arkansas.'"

The pivotal character in the Mena scandal was pilot Adier "Barry" Seal, whose "stranger than fiction" life story has been floating around for decades. He worked with South American drug cartels, the CIA, and was linked to people suspected of involvement in the JFK assassination. Seal was murdered by sub-machine gun wielding assailants in 1986.

Much of what we know about Seal can be credited to independent muckraking journalist Daniel Hopsticker, whose hard to find book Barry and the Boys is still the best source of biographical information on Seal's enigmatic life.

Seal's life story seems the stuff of spy thrillers, so it is appropriate that Tom Cruise, who is known for his Mission Impossible movies, is playing the part of Seal in the in post-production movie Mena, now retitled as American Made.

Seal's story, or at least a version of it, has had the Hollywood treatment once before. The made for TV movie Doublecrossed (1991) had Dennis Hopper playing the part.

However, this is the first time that the Barry Seal story has hit the big screen with an A list actor. That the filming is happening at the same time as the presidential election and with the original title clearly referencing events in the political background of one of the candidates it understandable that some will not be pleased, to say the least.

Scientology and Mena

It is well known that Tom Cruise is a member of the Church of Scientology. So high profile, in fact, that he is considered an ambassador of Scientology.

It may surprise some to learn that the Church of Scientology investigated the Mena, Arkansas scandal long before Cruise was picked to play the part of a Seal.

The Church of Scientology has published Freedom magazine since 1968. The CoS had a policy of investigating those who investigated them and some of this can be seen this magazine. The magazine was, and may still be, anti-drug, anti-psychiatry, anti-IRS, among other things. With the finances and resources of the CoS behind it, Freedom became, at least at one time, one of the best regularly published magazines focusing on investigative reporting of government corruption and misdeeds. It published research by researchers and authors such as Jim Marrs, Fletcher Prouty and Jim Garrison. So of course, Freedom investigated Mena.

[It should be noted that Freedom magazine is not what it once was, as it now mostly counters and responds to negative reports on Scientology in media, with far less investigation into government corruption.]

The Freedom magazine website states:

"From 1989 to the present, FREEDOM has published an ongoing series of articles, entitled 'The Drugging of America,' which have exposed reports of drug smuggling, money laundering and other illegal activities centered around Mena, Arkansas. This series was prepared with the help of local, state and federal law enforcement officials, as well as members of the news media in Arkansas and elsewhere."

"In the series, FREEDOM has presented accounts of how, in the 1980s, Mena became a base for an international, multibillion-dollar cocaine transport operation. As described in the series, corrupt U.S. government officials were allegedly involved in covering up the illegalities, which included special aircraft modifications so drugs could be flown into the United States and weapons transported out."

It seems unlikely that the Church of Scientology would not have shared its research on Mena with Cruise. Cruise has shown knowledge of research of another Church of Scientology linked group, the anti-psychiatric Citizens Commission on Human Rights, as demonstrated in a discussion on a talk show in 2005, for which he was criticized.

As of yet, the incident has gotten little attention from the anti-Clinton conspiracy crowd, which is odd, considering that there has been a Clinton Death List circulating for decades.

Death lists have been attached to conspiracy theories since first-generation JFK assassination researcher Penn Jones began to circulate a list of suspicious deaths of witnesses. Since death-lists of UFO researches, SDI scientists, Mothman witnesses, and all manner of scientists involved in clandestine research have circulated, inevitable ending up on the Internet.

All of the lists have many listings that are tangentially connected to the subject, things which seem suspicious but could just as easily be coincidental -- and a few strange and deeply suspicious deaths.

The Clinton Death List is back in circulation, with listings being added as election day draws closer. Even Wikileaks founder Julian Assange implied that the murder of Democrat National Committee staffer Seth Rich was connected to the leaking of DNC emails.

The deaths of the people on the plane would seem to be candidates for inclusion on the list. Especially considering the list is saturated with names connected to Mena. One of the earliest listing, the 1987 death of two teenage boys whose bodies were found on some railroad tracks, is said to be the result of a "wrong place, wrong time" witnessing of a Mena drug-drop and reads like a scene from Breaking Bad.

Also consider that one could easily jump to the conclusion that the plane crash was the result of sabotage, and that Cruise may have been the intended target, or at least it was a warning to Cruise.

On The Other Hand

It could have easily have been an accident or mistake, but it seems that the deaths inadvertently revealed the background of some of the people who are involved in the Mena movie.

Daniel Hopsticker, author of Barry and the Boys, noted "Both men who died in the crash of a twin-engine plane in Colombia... on the shoot for Tom Cruise’s new 'Mena' movie have backgrounds more like those of spies, spooks, drug movers or clandestine agents than pilots on a film shoot."

This even leaked out a little bit into the mainstream media. The british paper Guardian said that one of the victims "...was founder and president of the Los Angeles-based Helinet Technologies, a company providing aerial surveillance technology to law enforcement."

And there is the possibility that the Seal/Mena story may get spun in a way to soften the connections to the Clintons, as a political move by the Church of Scientology in exchange for some future influence.

It would not be the first time that Scientology has been suspected of using its movie star members to influence the Clintons.

The 1998 movie adaptation of the book, Primary Colors, stared Scientology celebrity John Travolta as John Stanton -- a thinly disguised parody of Bill Clinton.

The satirical novel caused a stir when it was released anonymously in 1996. It was an obvious fictionalized account of Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign, with details so accurate there was speculation that it was written by an insider. It was eventually revealed that its author was weekly news magazine columnist Joe Klein, although he had previously denied this.

[Conspiratorial minded readers take note: Klein's Wikipedia page says he is "...currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations..."]

There were rumors that Travolta had met with Clinton and had promised to tone down his portrayal of "Stanton" in exchange for Clinton promising to use his influence to help the Church of Scientology's status in Germany, where it was, and still is, having problems being recognized as a religion.

This even made it into Time magazine. In the 16 March 1998 issue, with John Travolta on the cover, Richard Corliss wrote:

"There were whispers that after a White House conversation with Travolta, Clinton put pressure on Germany to soften its stance toward the Church of Scientology, of which the actor is an outspoken adherent, and that in return Travolta portrayed Stanton more sympathetically. ...the actor has warm memories of the chat, in which he says Clinton spoke of an old roommate who had been a Scientologist."

So if it happened with one Clinton, it can happen with another. There are reports that Cruise has already been using his celebrity status to help Scientology in Germany.

In 2002, BBC reported "...Cruise has been lobbying officials in Germany over the country's strong stance against Scientology." This was in the middle of a promotional tour for the movie Vanilla Sky.

According to former high-ranking Scientologist Marky Rathburn, in 2003 Cruise used the influence of then former president Clinton to help Scientology in the United Kingdom. On a German TV show, Rathburn said "I witnessed the phone call. I was there when Tom Cruise made the phone call to Bill Clinton and spoke about contacting Blair to help the church with its charity status in the UK..."

[Be aware that as an estranged Scientologist, Rathburn is extremely biased, making him either a great source or an awful source, depending on who you talk to. The CoS has put up a "smear" website, as they do with many of their critics, to show him to be unreliable. http://whoismartyrathbun.com]

It is further reported that Cruise and Clinton met several times preceding this, including at the homes of Steven Spielberg and David Geffen.

It is fact that Cruise knows the Clintons. It is a evident that Scientology will use its celebrity members' connections for help in international affairs. It is not much of a leap to suggest that Cruise would make a deal with Hillary Clinton to keep focus away from the Clintons connections to the Mena scandal.

As the election draws nearer, this may already be happening. News reports say the movie's release has been delayed -- until after the election. More telling is that the name has been changed, from Mena - which would put the Arkansas connection in the foreground - to the ambiguous title American Made.

Daniel Hopsicker has already said that the Mena movie will obscure the facts of the case, saying "...anyone hoping for a public airing of the CIA’s involvement in the drug trade will be bitterly disappointed." And it seems that, along with the connections to the likes of George H. W. Bush, the Clintons role in the affair will be concealed as well.

People who are pro-Hillary Clinton, for whatever reason, will dismiss all of this as right-wing conspiracy rantings. Conspiracy theories are things to be dismissed, say Clinton supports... unless it is a conspiracy against the Clintons, then it's true.

Hillary Clinton famously said, in a 1998 interview, that the Clintons where victims of a "...vast right-wing conspiracy...."

Before this, the White House had already commissioned a document, with research assistant provided by the Democratic National Committee, detailing the conspiracy theory.
The 1995 internal memo, known as the Communications Stream of Conspiracy Commerce document, reads like a photocopied 1990s conspiracy 'zine.

But the conspiracy conspiracy surrounding the Clintons was not so simple. Although many of the researchers advancing Clinton conspiracies were biased, as they are today, this does not mean that the information they dug up was wrong. Kenneth Star, who was investigating the Clintons, subpoenaed everyone and their brother in the Lewinsky case - which was really a case about perjury - his inquiry into the death of Hillary Clinton's close associate Vince Foster - a case with allegations of murder - was quickly closed. And some right-wing sources where defending the Clintons.

The Lyndon LaRouche organization, which some considered fascist, and itself a purveyor of conspiracy allegations, regularly defended the Clinton White House in the pages of its publications The New Federalist and Executive Intelligence Review.

The LaRouche organization went so far as to accuse British journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - author of many Clinton scandal stories - who was also singled-out by the Clinton "Conspiracy Commerce" memo, of being a "British intelligence agent."

And all this after having published, just a few years previously, several articles linking Clinton to the Mena case.

As Hillary's campaign gets closer to election day, the rumors and theories will continue.
If she wins the election, which seems likely, expect the "communication stream" to flow even faster. Recently Hillary affirmed her belief in the conspiracy against her, saying "At this point it's probably not correct to say it's a conspiracy because it's out in the open... It's real, and we're going to beat it."

There are indications that one conspiracy author, Roger Stone, will gladly weave conspiracy theories, no matter how shaky the sources, as long as the right people are paying him. I expect that there are many who already think I am part of the conspiracy for writing this.

But the evidence shows, no matter which angle of the political spectrum you look at from, the Clinton presidency was as scandal ridden and corrupt as the Nixon years. Remember that Hillary has already spent eight years in the White House. If she wins the election, The Clinton Gang will be able to dominate the White House for as long as The Bush Crime Family, and possibly longer.

There are those - both people who are against Trump and people who are for Trump - who will think I am pro-Trump. So I am ending with this link to an interview with Daniel Hopsticker, on David Emory's radios show, which lays out Trump's mobbed-up connections - something that the mainstream media ignores so they can concentrate on his Twitter posts.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

In the late 1990s Stuart Sweezy, publisher of Amok Books, asked me to write some book reviews for a project that would eventually be published as Amok Fifth Dispatch.

As I remember, it was supposed to be published by a major book publisher but this was not to be. The massive book was published by Amok in 1999. It was a listing of esoteric and forbidden books, all reviewed by underground celebrities and eccentrics.

Publisher Sweezy knew me from a photocopied fanzine, dedicated to weirdology, that published in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Amok has recently put some of the reviews from Fifth Dispatch on a website.

"...more encyclopedic in scope, the Amok Fifth Dispatch opened up its ranks to a wide-ranging group of “oddball bibliophiles” (as director John Waters termed them) to contribute reviews and became a true sourcebook rather than a mail order book catalog. From a pioneering industrial music provocateur to a Fortean carnie sideshow performer, from an esteemed Science Fiction writer to a bondage porn director among many others, each of the Amok Fifth Dispatch contributors brought his or her own distinctive perspective and voice to the job of reviewing these intriguing and often obscure works. In recognition of this in 2000, the Amok Fifth Dispatch was nominated for Best Non-Fiction Title in the Firecracker Alternative Book Awards."

Cover of OTDE 8. Artwork by Madame Talbot

My listing reads "Tim Cridland is the publisher of Off The Deep End, a zine devoted to strange ideas, conspiracy theories, weird science, flying saucers and unorthodox notions. He is best known as a sideshow and stage performer under the name Zamora, the Torture King."

A history of the snake-handling churches of Tennessee which is both academic and insightful, containing 178 photos of people handling snakes and drinking poison.

There is a general tendency to view the Southern snake-handlers as simple-minded or insane. Such a condescending attitude is, thankfully, absent from this book. Author Thomas Burton seems to have a liking for the subjects of his study, and reports that one of the reasons he stays in contact with them is that “they are good friends. They are strong, courageous, ethical people… I am proud of their friendship.”

Whenever a snake-handler dies of a snake bite, it makes the papers. This helps create the impression that snake-handlers are crazy people who drop dead whenever they perform their insane ritual. This book makes clear that although a practitioner will drop dead now and then, snake-handlers generally are bitten again and again with little or no effect. Even more amazing is their ability to consume poison. It is tempting to dismiss snake-handlers by speculating that they milk the snakes of their venom and switch the jars of strychnine with plain water. Every investigation that I am aware of shows that this is not so.
The snake-handlers take Mark 16:17-18 (and some other Bible verses) literally. They believe that the best way to show their faith is to handle deadly snakes and drink poisons. Also described are their fire-handling abilities, which are completely different from New Age-style firewalks. They have an obsession for filling Coke bottles with kerosene, stuffing a rag in the end and lighting it on fire. This potential Molotov cocktail is then held under the chin and other parts of the body. Removing hot coals from a furnace with the bare hands is not an unknown occurrence.

Particularly interesting is the section of biographical essays of various snake-handlers. These accounts could be dismissed as the product of someone’s imagination if it weren’t for the fact that the author has done such a thorough job of documenting everything in the book.

Snake-handlers are as close as the United States gets to a home-grown mystic order (excluding Native Americans, of course). Although only briefly mentioned in the book, parallels to certain Sufi dervish groups are noticeable. There is an emphasis on good behavior (adab in Sufi terms), a disconnection from a “main” or central church body, a transference of powers of immunity (what the snake-handlers call “anointment”), dancing and rhythmic moments that turn into a trancelike state while accompanied by music played on the instruments of the common folk.

The appendixes include an electroencephalograph test on an “anointed” person and a technical report on the music used during snake-handling services. The list of references is extensive and complete. TC

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You can find more of my reviews from Amok Fifth Dispatch at the link below. Only a few of my reviews are on the site. Hopefully the site will be enlarged in the near future.

Friday, February 26, 2016

I wrote the following article in 1993. At the time it was one of few sources of information about self-trepanning. Trepanning means making a hole in the skull of a living person.

I was published in a Canadian Body-Piercing/Modern Primitives fanzine. This was a time when self-published zines were printed on the office photo-copier on the sly and the Internet was just beginning. This article lived on on the pre-Internet computer BBS system and then on the Internet were it can still be found. Strangely, the editor of the Canadian zine posted this claiming she was the copyright holder. Nope. This is mine. I republish it here pretty much as it was written, with the exception of a few spelling corrections and some additional information afterwards.

I am obligated to say that I do not advocate anyone drilling a hole in their own skull even though in some parts of this article it appears that I do.

Trepananation display at The Science Museum in London. Items are from the Wellcome Collection.

HOLE IN THE HEAD GANG
By Timothy Colin Cridland

What's the next big thing in body modification? Remember when you got that funny hair cut, that tattoo or face piercing? Remember thinking- what will my mom say when she sees this? Well, she'll wish it was just a mohawk when you come home after trepanning yourself at the rave last night.

What is trepanation? Well, you may have seen National Geographic Special showing skulls that have been found with holes chiseled out of them. The narrator of whatever science show you may be watching inevitably points out that some of the skulls show signs of multiple operations with evidence of healing in between them, showing that this was a survivable operation, even with the primitive medical techniques that must have been used. Some would have you believe that these operations could only have been performed with the aid of a technology provided by space-beings; this is the claim of Eric Von Daniken in one of the Chariots of the Godsfilms.

In my research into the world of weirdness, I came across references to acts of self-trepanation that had been performed in the 20th Century. This form of body altering is so extreme that I figured the exploits of these people would be well- known to more knowledgeable "Modern Primitives". When I finally got to meet a man who is considered one of the most learned body modifiers in the US, I had to ask him what he knew about this. To my surprise, he knew almost nothing about it. In fact, I ended up sending him information on this. In Seattle, when I told a major figure in the body altering scene that I located someone who had located a hole in their head with an electric drill, he asked me if they were in a mental hospital. I told him they ran an art gallery.

Here is the story, in a nutshell. The founder of modern trepanation is a Dutch man by the name of Dr. Bart Hughes. In 1962 he became convinced that one’s degree and state of consciousness is controlled by the volume of blood in the brain. Humans have been robbed of a high range of consciousness because we began to walk upright, putting the heart below the brain. This state of affairs could be corrected by standing on one’s head, jumping from hot water into cold water, or taking various drugs. He noted that when we are born, our heads are unsealed. We have all heard of the "soft spot" on top of a baby's head.

He became convinced that the way to gain back the state of imagination and perception that one experiences as a child was to open a hole in the now-sealed adult skull. He did this to himself with an electric drill. This must have been the first intentional trepanation in hundreds of years. I do not have any account of the specifics of this operation, but it could not have been too bad because he immediately began preaching the benefits of his new state of consciousness, achieved, he claimed, by restoring the natural pulsations of the brain in response to the heart beat. It is said that this did land him in the loony bin in Holland.

Joseph Mellen met Bart Hughes in Abase in 1965 and became a convert to his teachings of trepanation and also his doctrine of "brainbloodvolume", that, in order to avoid a bad LSD trip, one should take sugar with your dose. Or drill a hole in the skull. Mellen gave lectures on the importance of Brainbloodvolume and sent out an open letter to LSD dealers about advice that they should give their customers on how to take acid. In London Mellen met a well-known eccentric named Michael Holingshead, who had given Timothy Leary his first acid trip. Holingshead had assumed his name in reference to the mystical third eye. Mellen told Holingshead about Bart Hughes and his discoveries, but Holingshead seemed to prefer to have the third eye be only symbolic and wasn't too keen on having a real hole in his skull, but was won over on the sugar part of it.

Here I am reminded of the book The Third Eye by L. Lobsang Rampa. In it the author claimed to have been initiated into a Tibetan monastery. Part of the initiation consisted of having a hole drilled into his skull and a splinter of wood inserted into the brain to activate the third eye. Alas, the author turned out not to be a Tibetan, but an Englishman by the name of Cyril Henry Hoskins. He showed no sign of trepanation, making it almost certain his whole account was fraudulent.

In 1966 money was raised to bring Bart Hughes to London. He was housed in a Chelsea flat. Bart and Joey gave lectures around London, riding the popularity of LSD. The Sunday press caught wind of Mellen and Hughes' teachings and called for them to be thrown out of the country. Julie Felix, a well-known English folk-singer, was more impressed. She recorded songs about the joys of trepanation and Brainbloodvolume, composed by Mellen himself.

Joey decided to take the trepanation plunge. Bart had become friends with Amanda Feilding who was sharing an apartment with Mellen. One day, when Amanda had traveled to Amsterdam to spend some time with Hughes, Joey decided it was time to do it. Joey went to a surgical store and bought a trepan instrument, kind of like a big corkscrew, designed to be worked by hand. A spike was meant to be driven into the skull to hold the instrument steady, while the revolving saw made a circle around it, removing a circle of bone much like a glass-cutter removes a disc of glass.
After getting the right needles to administer local anesthesia, Joey took some LSD and tried to trepannate himself. He could not do it. After baring the skull, he was unable to drive the spike in. He phoned Hughes in Amsterdam for help. He tried to return to London to assist in the next operation, but was not allowed into England, being listed as an undesirable. Amanda came in his place. With her help, the spike was driven into Mellen's skull. Mellen turned the crank on the saw. Just as he was about to break through, he fainted. He was taken to a hospital, where he was told if he had gone a fraction of an inch further he would be dead.

After spending a week on jail on unrelated marijuana possession charges, and getting the attention of a group of psychiatrists, Joey was ready to try the operation for a third time. With Amanda present, he followed the old groove, trying to break through the thin layer of bone that was left. Proving the Doctors wrong, when he broke through he found not death but "An ominous sounding schlurp and the sound of bubbling." Upon withdrawing the trepan, there was a piece of bone in it, but it was apparent that the cut had been uneven, and that part of the bone had snapped off. "At the time I thought that any hole would do, no matter what size. I bandaged my head and cleared away the mess."

In the spring of 1970, to make sure the hole was of sufficient size, he decided to make another one, this time with an electric drill. Amanda was not in town, so he did it alone. He selected a spot above the hairline and applied the drill. After half an hour, the drill burned out. He had it repaired, and tried again the next day. "This time there was no doubt. The drill went at least an inch deep through the hole. A great gush of blood followed my withdrawal of the drill. In the mirror I could see the blood in the hole rising and falling with the pulsation of the brain."

He claimed that the operation that the operation had produced the desired effects. He claimed that he had achieved the permanent high that he had sought for so long.

When Amanda returned, she immediately noticed the change in Joey and was apparently so impressed that she decided to drill a hole in her skull with an electric drill as well.

This time the operation was recorded on film. Joey operated the camera while Amanda trepannated herself. She shaves her hair, makes an incision in the scalp with a scalpel, and drills through the skull, causing blood to flow.

After breaking through, Amanda experienced a slow change of consciousness. "Over the next four hours I had a kind of feeling like the tide coming in, a soft flowing feeling. ... the ego had stopped talking". As to how it feels today Amanda has said, "It's not an ecstatic feeling at all, but it's very slight rise in the level of the floor of the psyche to the floor of childhood." and "If one puts the adult norm of consciousness at zero and the LSD users at one hundred, then the childhood level and that attained by trepanation is thirty, and the level of cannabis is around fifty to sixty."

Joey Mellen wrote a book about his experiences, entitledBore Hole. The film was edited with together the films of Amanda's pet pigeon (to represent peace and wisdom) and music was added. It was released under the title Heart Beat in the Brain, and was played in lectures that they gave around Europe and the US. Many attending these lectures were known to faint when the film was shown. Amanda has written a pamphlet on the subject, titled Blood and Consciousness and has run for Parliament twice on the platform of trepanation for natural health. She admits, however, that she did this in order to publicize trepanation and did not expect to win. To this day Amanda and Joey run the Pigeon Hole Gallery in Chelsea, UK. Yes, they are alive and healthy.

That is the story of the modern pioneers of trepanation. Is it still going on today? According to Amanda there are others, but not many. They have a hard time having Doctors giving them any public support, for the obvious reason that it might endanger their practice. But I can see a day, not far away, where all the kids at the rave, high on LSD and sugary Smart Drinks, will have inserted candles in their trepanation holes just like that one guy you always see at the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. It would look really neat.

When researching trepanation, I am always reminded of the bad guy from the David Cronenberg film Scanners. In the movie, he is said to have trepanated himself with an electric drill "to let the voices out". If we are to believe Hughes, Mellen and Feilding, it is not voices, but the ego that get out through that hole.

This article is actually incomplete. Most everything I have read on self-trepanation has been a rewrite of the chapter People with holes in their heads from the book Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions by John Michell. This article also relies heavily on that excellent source, but the additional information taken from a recent issue of Fortean Times, which included an interview with Amanda Feilding, as well as an outstanding article on trepanation. Information on self-trepanation seems very hard to get. Recently, I was given the phone number of Ms. Feilding. By the time this article is printed I probably will be in England, where I plan to conduct my own interview, hopefully answering the many questions that are still lingering in my mind. An update of this article will be published in the near future.

END OF ORIGINAL ARTICLE

I did find and interview Amanda Feilding in London. The interview was published in AMOK Journal Sensurround Edition (1995). Part of my interest in publicizing the history of modern day self-trepanation was to see if it would create a revival. There were news reports suggesting that there was a resurgence of sorts but it never became anywhere as popular as other body modifications. Amanda Feildings film of her self-trepanation was finally re-released as part of a 1998 documentaryA Hole in The Head. As I am writing this (Feb. 2016) a British publisher has just re-issued Joey Mellens Bore Hole.

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